Uttarakhand is now the state that offers medical education for the lowest fees in the entire country, as claimed by the state government spokesperson and Agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal. The government decided to reduce MBBS fees in government colleges during a cabinet meeting held on Thursday.

Uniyal said, "For an MBBS  course, in a government college, a student has to pay Rs 4 lakh per annum. Uttarakhand government has brought the fee down to Rs 1.45 lakh now. Those furnishing a bond to serve in the state for five years after the completion of course will have to pay only Rs 50,000 per year." He further said, "Previously, the lowest fee being charged from government medical students was in Punjab, where a student had to pay Rs 1.5 lakh for the first year and thereafter, it was raised by 15 per cent per year for the remaining period of the course."

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Uniyal further said that a state team had looked up the fees in other states based on which it was found that Punjab was charging the lowest fees. The government decided to lower the fees to help those pursuing the course.

According to the bond the students submit, a student will practice in a medical college for the first year after the completion of their degree, the next two years in a primary health centre in a rural area of the state, and finally, the last two years in a district hospital.

The bond system was provided by all Uttarakhand medical colleges earlier. This changed during the tenure of Trivendra Singh Rawat wherein the bond was offered only in medical colleges located in hilly areas. The cabinet has now decided to offer the bonds to students in all government medical colleges.